Elder abuse: Screening in Iranian families

Background: The rate of elder abuse has been increasing worldwide. This study aimed at identifying the group of elders susceptible to abuse and determining the influential factors of elder abuse. Methods: A total of 683 elders, living in rural and urban areas of Qazvin (Iran), participated in this cross- sectional study that was conducted during September to December 2015. They were selected by stratified multistage random sampling method and filled in a standard questionnaire (H-S/EAST). Multiple logistic regression models were used for data analysis in Microsoft SPSS v.18. Type 1 error was considered equal to 0.05. Results: The average age of participants was 68.5±7.6. Also, the prevalence of elder abuse in this study was 38.5 (95% CI: 3.34- 42.3). After eliminating the confounders and applying multiple regression analysis, we found a significant association between elder abuse and factors such as education level (OR= 2.003, 95% CI: 1.177-3.409), residence (OR= 3.53, 95% CI: 1.969-6.324), and age (OR= 0.963, 95% CI: 0.931-0.995). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated a high prevalence of elder abuse in the studied population. By identifying high-risk individuals for elder abuse and planning to improve their quality of life, we will be able to successfully overcome this issue.